


Snapback Blues

by ReeLeeV



Series: Kiwon High School AU [3]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Heartbreak, M/M, Moving On, joogun rise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-03-02 19:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13324998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReeLeeV/pseuds/ReeLeeV
Summary: When Jooheon meets the new transfer kid, he can't even begin to imagine just what's in store for him.Continuation of 'Meant to Be'





	1. Chapter 1

Jooheon stands out at the front of the school, leaning against a cement pillar. He watches apathetically as his peers flood towards the building from the street, his gaze blank and unreadable. A few of his soccer buddies from last term greet him, and he can only hum a reply. 

It's been a week since he'd last seen Kihyun and Hyungwon together, and he definitely isn't prepared for it now... Not that he really thinks he'll ever be prepared for such a glaring reminder of his heartbreak. 

Speaking of whom... 

 _Here they come now_ , Jooheon silently muses at seeing the couple round the corner into the parking lot.  _In all_ _their_ _newly-_ _reunited glory... Whoop-dee-_ _frikkin_ _'-doo._  

"Ya gotta let it go, Heonney," a familiar voice murmurs in his ear. He feels Minhyuk wrap a consoling arm around his shoulders, and it's all he has in him to keep from shaking off the hold. "They're happy, and you owe it to yourself to find happiness, too." 

"What sage advice, hyung," Jooheon mutters back under his breath, his voice dripping with bitterness. "Really, you should put that in a book and sell it. You'd make  _millions_." 

"You know," Minhyuk sighs out exasperatedly, "this attitude of yours is getting really tiresome. I don't care if you're sarcastic with me, but you even wailed on Kkungie the other day... Deal with your pain already and stop making the rest of us suffer." He drops his arm and walks off, grumbling under his breath something about moody teenagers. Jooheon sighs heavily, willingly ignoring the guilty bite in his heart at the memory. 

 

The poor maknae had come over, as none of the group had heard from him since that day in the diner, and he'd wanted to check on the older. He'd tried to be a comfort to Jooheon, to hang out with him and let him vent, but Jooheon had only snapped at him and told him to leave. He just couldn't help it, he's been so angry that he's been letting loose on everyone lately... 

Of course, he'd called Changkyun and apologized profusely when he'd realized what he'd done. Changkyun had accepted the apology without the slightest bit of hesitation, but the damage had already been done. He hasn't seen the younger yet, but he's pretty sure his guard-dog of a boyfriend will be glaring at him all throughout lunch. And, man, if that isn't Jooheon's idea of fun, then he just doesn't know what fun is anymore. 

 

Jooheon refocuses on the situation at hand, shoving thoughts of that mess aside for later. For now, he's waiting for a transfer kid to show up. He'd agreed to helping Kihyun with welcoming committee duties last term, as the older had just had too much on his plate to be able to give it the proper amount of time, so it's now his job to show this Song Gunhee around campus. 

He wonders what this new kid is like, if he's one of the preppy types or if he's just genuinely into doing extracurriculars... Or, what if he isn't into anything at all? What if he's a loner? What if they won't have anything in common? Jooheon's supposed to play the part of his first friend at this new school, but he isn't really in the best place mentally to be playing such a role... 

The best this kid can hope for at this point is that Jooheon not go off on him just for asking where the nearest bathroom is. 

Jooheon frowns, looking around for someone matching Song's description. Of course, there was a photo with his transcripts, but the stupid file wouldn't load on Jooheon's computer no matter how hard he tried. God, he really ought to get a new one, at this point. That annoying hunk of metal has become obsolete throughout the years. 

"Um, excuse me?" a lighthearted sort-of voice asks. Jooheon turns only to see a boy of similar height staring at him, his small eyes upturned into a sort of eye-smile and a wide grin spread across his face. He's wearing a snapback that Jooheon recognizes, as it's actually one he'd just seen on one of his favorite designer's websites not too long ago, and his school uniform seems a bit askew. 

"Are you Lee Jooheon, by chance?"  

Jooheon nods once, and the boy before him sighs in relief. 

"Thank God," he comments, reaching out and taking Jooheon's hand in for a vigorous shake that practically tears Jooheon's arm out of his socket. "I'm Song Gunhee... I didn't even realize when I walked passed you, man! I just went straight to the office, and then they told me to come find you." He barks out a fit of laughter at himself, shaking his head.  

"O-Oh," Jooheon stammers out, quite taken aback by this kid's energy. He struggles to remember the script he'd had to memorize when he took this job. "Welcome to Starship High, Gunhee-nim... We can—" 

"Ahhhh, just call me Gunhee," the boy tells him. "Or, better yet, call me hyung! I heard that you're a few months younger than me." 

"O-Okay, hyung," Jooheon says dryly, trying for a light chuckle as he just goes with the flow. He figures it's better to just go along with it for now. They're supposed to be friends, after all. "Um, let's go ahead and get started with the tour, then!" He tries to put as much feeling into his voice as possible, which is quite the feat considering he hasn't felt much emotion ever since that breakdown in Minhyuk's car...  

Memories of that day flood his mind, and it takes much more effort than he has in him to shove the residual hurt away to deal with for a later time. 

 

"I don't know why I bother doing anything nice for you, dongsaeng," Kihyun declares teasingly as he steps out of the car. " _Ye_ _t again_ you've made me late for the speech set-up..." Hyungwon chuckles warmly as he gets out of the car, as well, and steps over to place a sweet kiss against Kihyun's cheek. 

"Because you love me~" he says with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Kihyun hums, smirking bemusedly as he takes Hyungwon's hand in his. 

"Do I, now?" he asks, a playful lilt to his voice. Hyungwon pouts cutely, a hand snaking out to pinch Kihyun's sides in retaliation. Kihyun yelps out a hyena-like laugh, shaking his head at his boyfriend. He takes in their surroundings, eyes skipping over all the people milling about on their way to school. The fourth-year takes in a deep breath, reveling in the fact that this is his last first day of high school. 

It's a wonderfully liberating feeling, if he does say so himself. 

He spots Jooheon on the front steps shaking hands with someone, and his good mood falters ever so slightly. His brilliant smile trembles a bit, and his gaze hardens. Hyungwon recognizes the look of distress trying to overtake his boyfriend's joyous expression, and he immediately looks around to try and find the source of hurt... 

Upon seeing their mutual friend, he sighs knowingly. The taller steps closer, pressing a consoling kiss against the older's hair. Kihyun pushes out a low chuckle, tearing his eyes away as Jooheon turns towards the school.  

"Have you heard from him?" Hyungwon asks, though he knows the answer. Kihyun wordlessly shakes his head, a bitter taste rising in his mouth. He releases a shaky breath, throwing his shoulders back and shoving thoughts of his childhood friend aside for now. 

"C'mon, Wonnie," Kihyun says, a false bravado to his voice. "Let's get to the auditorium. If Principal Hyolyn notices I'm late, I won't hesitate to blame you, Chae Hyungwon." 

Hyungwon chuckles amusedly, allowing Kihyun to tug him along... thoughts of their friend remaining in the back of his mind. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOOOOOO LORD I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE THIS GUYS TTTTTTTT I'm trying to get better at updating, I swear!!!! I hope y'all like this chapter at least a little, and I'll try and see you guys very soon with the next update!! Thank y'all for your patience ^^; <3333

“And this is the cafeteria,” Jooheon finishes up, waving his left arm out towards the room just left of them. Gunhee peeks in, a wide smile revealing a set of rounded teeth. Jooheon watches, doing his best to keep his gaze interested despite his wish to just go back home and crawl under the covers for a century. The bell rings out, echoing its tin little call throughout the hall. Kids immediately begin to file out of the nearby classrooms, pushing passed Gunhee and Jooheon in their rush to get food.

“Wow,” Gunhee comments, shoving his hands into the pockets of his uniform blazer. “This school’s incredible… I’m honored to be able to come here.” Jooheon hums, glancing around. 

“It’s nice,” he relents. At Gunhee’s questioning glance, he quickly adds with a nervous chuckle, “You get pretty used to it after going here for three years, I guess.”

“Dude,” Gunhee says, stepping closer so as to avoid being knocked into by the growing stream of kids, “this is awesome! There’s entire classes dedicated to all the different parts of music producing! This is  _exactly_ what I needed to work towards my dream." He pauses then, scooting even closer to Jooheon with a playful glint to his eye. "I'm planning on being a solo rapper once I'm out of here..." Jooheon's eyebrows shoot up despite his general disinterest concerning the new boy, unable to fight off the instinct.

"What?" Gunhee asks, puffing up his chest defiantly. "You think that's funny, or somethin'?"

"N-No," Jooheon quickly assures him, more emotion in his voice than there's been the entire tour. "It's just, that's what I'm working for, too." Gunhee inhales sharply, an excited grin blazing across his features.

"What are the odds!" he exclaims, earning a few curious glances from passersby. "This is great! You've  _got_ to show me what you're working on sometime. I'd love to see..." Jooheon hums, glancing away to avoid the slightly-older's piercing gaze. Something about the suggestion sit right with him, as if the other is trying to imply something... But, before he can figure it out, he spots a familiar group of boys rounding the corner, heading towards him like an oncoming storm. He gulps thickly, inwardly beginning to panic.

He hasn't prepared himself for this yet! He isn't ready to face them all at once like this! And that's not even to mention how  _very much not ready_ he is for seeing the happy couple...

“Heonney!” Minhyuk greets, propelling himself towards the younger. Jooheon catches his hyung with only a bit of fumbling, wondering how Hyunwoo could do something so easily. He guesses all those days weight-training must’ve done the older some good, after all. “You comin’ to eat lunch with us? Oh! Who’s this~?” As usual, the older is firing off multiple questions at once without giving Jooheon a chance to answer any of them. He used to think it endearing, but right now it just grates on his fragile nerves.

“I’m Gunhee,” the boy beside him greets, giving a breathy laugh as he offers out a hand for Minhyuk to shake. The older takes it, humming thoughtfully as his gaze flicks between the two. Jooheon doesn’t understand the light to his eyes, something almost... knowing within them. But, knowing what? They’re literally just  _standing there_. 

 _Stupid_ _Minhyuk_ _,_ Jooheon mentally grumbles,  _reading too much into literally anything you put in front of him_... 

“You joining us for lunch, too?” Minhyuk asks, dropping his grip on Gun’s hand. He crosses his arms over his chest, pouting. “We have some empty seats now that the oldest of us have left...” Changkyun nods behind him, his eyes pain-stricken as he grips the strap of his messenger bag. Jooheon can’t help but huff out a breath, unable to find sympathy for either of the others... After all,  _they_ were lucky enough to find true love, and Jooheon just figures by now he’s destined to die alone.

Without perfect, stupid, beautiful, amazing Kihyun, there’s no one left for him. That insipid, nauseating Hyungwon... Why did he have to lose Kihyun to  _that_? 

“Yeah, sure... If, you know, that’s alright with Heon?” Jooheon feels the others’ eyes on him, and he gives a small, begrudging nod in reply. He wasn’t going to eat with them today, wasn’t going to eat with them for a while. He doesn’t think he can handle the constant reminder of his own failure of snatching Kihyun up when he had the chance... But, now, it seems he doesn’t have a choice.

Minhyuk nods once, as if in victory, and starts to lead them all into the throng of the cafeteria. Changkyun follows, then Kihyun and Hyungwon pass, hand-in-hand. Kihyun offers the younger a sheepish smile as Jooheon falls in-step with the group to lead Gunhee around.

“How’ve you been, Heonney?” Kihyun asks, his own nerves clear in his tone. “It’s been a while since we’ve talked.”

“Haven’t had a lot to say,” Jooheon answers bluntly, shrugging a single shoulder. He shoves his hands into his pockets, eyes downcast on the grimy tiled floor. It’s amazing to him how this floor can be so dirty despite the daily cleanings the janitorial staff performs.

“You feeling okay?” Hyungwon breaks in, his tone somewhat abrasive. Jooheon’s gaze snaps over, defiant. What the hell does this snide brat have to be mad about??? He got Kihyun, all Jooheon’s ever really wanted, so what the fuck is his problem??? What else could the older want? Jooheon has nothing left for him to steal and ruin.

“Fine,” Jooheon replies, only able to utter that single syllable out through gritted teeth before glancing back to the floor. He catches how Hyungwon squeezes Kihyun’s hand in a silent message, and the fraction of movement only causes his own bitterness to rise tenfold. He falls a few paces behind, thinking it easier to ignore them when they aren’t so close to him.

Kihyun glances back for a moment before moving on towards their normal table, his lower lip poked out in a questioning pout before his attention is pulled away by Hyungwon.

“Breakups are hard,” Gunhee sighs beside him, low enough for only Jooheon to hear. Jooheon glances over to him, the confusion clear on his face. 

“I... don’t know what you mean,” Jooheon tells him truthfully, his befuddlement being the first thing to pierce through the shadows of heartache that have been surrounding him for weeks. Gunhee’s brow furrows, mirroring Jooheon’s expression.

“Oh, sorry man,” he says, looking to the floor now himself, “I just assumed, with the vibe and all, that you and that other guy were involved...” Jooheon’s eyebrows shoot up, somewhat surprised to have been read so easily by a complete stranger. Amazing how someone so outside the situation could so easily read it all, but Kihyun was still oblivious.

“No, we weren’t,” Jooheon says, spitting out the words like acid. “We could’ve been, at one point... but that’s all gone now. He chose  _that_ jerk over me...  _twice_.” Gunhee hums, and Jooheon catches him eyeing the back of Hyungwon’s head with an almost defensive light. 

“Well... his loss,” Gunhee offers halfheartedly, patting Jooheon’s back. Jooheon gives him a small, tight grin, grateful for the attempt at comfort despite having only known this boy for a few hours. 

He avoids looking at Kihyun and Hyungwon throughout the entirety of lunch, instead distracting himself with talking to Gunhee about different types of music and the artists they liked. To be honest, anything and anyone was a welcome distraction, at this point.


End file.
